The US Securities and Exchange Commission has imposed a severe fine on the consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) for violating the rules in employee reviews. The company admitted to wrongdoing and accepted a $100 million fine, the SEC said on Tuesday. According to the agency, EY employees cheated for years on certain exams and courses required for their chartered accountant licenses.
The company also withheld evidence during the investigation and tried to mislead the SEC. As a consequence, the supervisory authority decided on the highest penalty to date against an auditing firm. SEC Director Gurbir S. Grewal described it as “outrageous” that experts who are responsible for uncovering trickery by clients are cheating. EY expressed remorse in a statement, stating: “Nothing is more important than our integrity and morals”.